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    Loss Leader
    Loss Leader
    Loss Leader
    Ebook52 pages33 minutes

    Loss Leader

    By Simon Haynes

    3.5/5

    ()

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    About this ebook

    After many delays and last-minute setbacks, the first colony ship leaves planet Earth for a distant star.

    Join the crew as they discover all is not as it seems...

    Originally published in Andromeda Spaceways #3

    "... pure science fiction and, just between ourselves, an entirely evil tale, suggesting a far more likely approach to Earth colonizing the universe than I have seen in a long time." Australian Spec Fic in Focus

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon Haynes
    Release dateMar 4, 2011
    ISBN9781465735799
    Loss Leader
    Author

    Simon Haynes

    Simon Haynes lives in Western Australia, where he divides his time between herding deadly spiders, dodging drop bears, and making up wildly inaccurate sentences like this one.By day he's an author. By night he's also an author.He loves wry, dry humour, and his hobbies include daringly inserting the letter U into words where -- in some parts of the world at least -- this simply isn't the done thing.As for his genre-spanning novels, they include epic fantasy (with robots), scifi comedy (also with robots), middle grade humour (featuring robots AND the wanton use of the letter U), as well as a series of historical mystery novels set in 1870's London. (No, of course there aren't robots in those. He's not completely out of his mind.)When he's not writing Simon is usually renovating his house, sim-racing online, using twitter (@spacejock), gardening, tweaking his book covers, pondering the meaning of the universe and reading, and if you think it's easy doing all that at the same time you should see what he can do with a mug of coffee, a banana and a large bag of salt.When he's not making outlandish claims he likes to count how many novels he's written, and how many genres he's written them in. (Lots and too many.)Finally, if you want to hear Simon reading one of his award-winning stories, you'll find an enticement to join his newsletter here: spacejock.com.au/ML.html

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      Book preview

      Loss Leader - Simon Haynes

      Loss Leader

      A Short Story

      After delays and last-minute setbacks, Earth's first-ever colony ship leaves for a distant star. Join the crew as they discover all is not as it seems…

      Originally Published in

      Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine #3

      © Simon Haynes 2011

      All Rights Reserved

      Bowman Press

      Bowman Press

      Stock images © depositphotos.com

      Get Sleight of Hand… free!

      Get an award-winning short story… free!

      Loss Leader

      Erin Campsie ran her hand over her brow, pushing aside several strands of dark brown hair. She forced her gritty eyes to focus on the lens as her lips did their best to twist into a grin. 'You'll have to speak up,' she said loudly. 'I can't hear you.'

      The roar of the ship's thrusters almost drowned the hiss of static. There was a faint click and a cultured, male voice emanated from the grille. 'I'll repeat it. Don't worry, we'll be editing this before it goes out.'

      'Can you smooth out the bags under my eyes?'

      The man's laugh sounded tinny through the speaker. 'For you, anything.' The voice changed slightly, became more formal. 'Erin, has the last month or so been hard on your team, given the delays?'

      Erin nodded, her face serious. 'It's been pretty stressful. They only bedded down the last of the colonists a week ago.'

      'Because half of them changed their mind at the last minute, right?'

      Erin frowned. 'I'm not aware of that.'

      'I've been watching them slinking out of the ferries. Doesn't it worry you, the fact that almost five hundred people refused to go through with this?'

      'You're mistaken. If anyone backed out there would be hundreds more ready to take their place.'

      There was a low chuckle from the speaker. 'Don't be so sure.' The interviewer changed tack. 'Is it true there was a last-minute problem with the cryo-tanks?' 'No,' said Erin flatly.

      'There have been rumours. Reid Corp stock fell eight percent yesterday, and …'

      Erin pushed herself out of her chair and leant close to the camera. 'Interview terminated,' she said firmly, cancelling the connection. For six years, she'd been shielded from the media, only to be thrown to the wolves now that she was leaving. Arseholes.

      She turned round as a door opened behind her.

      'Everything is okay?' Anton Piret studied her through half-closed eyes, his face a worried mask.

      Erin forced a smile. 'Everything is fine, Anton.' She rested her behind on the narrow desk. 'I had to give an interview.'

      'Ah, the media attention. They make you famous, you know.'

      Erin shrugged. 'Makes no difference, where we're going. I'm pissed at the Reid people, though, letting slime like that through now that we're out of their hands.'

      Anton looked at her thoughtfully. 'What was this about the colonists?'

      'Not you, too! It's

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